The Last Bloom Of Summer
by Snowparrot
Summary: AU. Dahlia Black is a dimension shifter and encounters her male alternate self Sirius and his friends, the Marauders, at the age of nine. Remus Greyback is an outcast amongst wizards, slowly becoming the Dark Lord's young favorite ... then they meet: fem!Sirius/Remus
1. A First Journey Of Discovery

**The Last Bloom Of Summer**

"'Tis the last rose of summer,

left blooming alone.

All her lovely companions

Are faded and gone." Nina Simone

 **A First Journey of Discovery**

The first time it happened, Dahlia Black was nine years old. She was hiding from the Christmas visitors in the attic. She could hear her mother yelling angrily for her down below when everything went spinning. The next thing she knew she was sitting in a red room besides a nice warming fire, looking at four slightly older, unknown boys. The four boys were sprawled over comfy looking armchairs and obviously just in the motion of unpacking their Christmas gifts.

"Woah, who are you? What just happened?" the boy with the glasses and the messy dark hair said. He was holding a golden snitch in his hands that was threatening to escape because he was so stunned at Dahlia's sudden appearance.

"Did you just apparate in here?" the handsome boy with the big blue eyes and wavy black mane said, raising his wand.

"One can't apparate into Hogwarts," the chubby one with short blond hair answered, his widened eyes fixed on Dahlia.

"Of cooourse, I didn't know that," the handsome one answered, rolling his eyes. The fourth boy, pale and scarred, wearing his thick brown hair to his shoulders, was too surprised to comment on the sudden arrival of the young witch. He was silently turning the pages of some book in his lap, oblivious to his hand movements.

Dahlia was just as stunned as the four boys, slowly getting on her feet and looking around. "Um, so I'm in Hogwarts?" she asked, scrutinizing the young mischief-makers.

"Yes! Now, what we'd like to know is how you did your appearing trick and how we can make it useful to us!" the messy-haired one said excitedly, letting his snitch flutter away.

"Well, she's a girl," the other dark haired one drawled, one eyebrow raised. "I doubt there's anything interesting to be learnt from her."

This made Dahlia take a double take. "Excuse me?" she snarled and let her hand drift towards the pocket where she kept her wand. In average wizarding standards she was by two years too young to own her own wand. The Blacks, however, had never kept to such rules.

"Uh, the little girl is gonna hex us," the blond boy said. Dahlia wasn't quite sure whether he was speaking out of fear or whether he was making fun of her.

"S … stop it! The girl is probably frightened," the fourth boy finally spoke up reluctantly and turned towards Dahlia with a concerned frown on his face. "Do you know how you ended up here?"

Gripping the wand in her pocket, Dahlia shook her head no. She could guess that she had triggered some kind of ancient dangerous artefact in the attic, but she was not going to tell these boys anything about her family secrets.

"Well, we all must have forgotten our manners for a few moments here. I'm Remus Lupin," the fourth boy said in a friendly manner, extending his hand for her to shake. Slowly and shyly, Dahlia let her wand drop back into the pocket of her cloak and took his hand.

"And I am the one and only James Potter," the messy-haired one said and extended his hand towards her as well. Dahlia's eyes widened. "I've heard about you," she said without thinking as she shook his hand.

"Then you must have heard about me as well. Sirius Black at your service," the handsome one said.

Dahlia did not take his hand and scrutinized him with a critical look. "You can't be a Black," she said at last. "I know the family tree by heart. There is no Sirius Black."

Sirius crossed his arms and frowned silently down at the little girl. She answered his gaze with steadfastness. "Well, that doesn't make sense," Sirius said at last. "Why would you want to know the Black family tree by heart? And why would not know about the only decent one of us?"

The blond boy was nodding ardently next to him. "Yes, that's just ridiculous," he said. "But anyway, I'm Peter, Peter Pettigrew." Dahlia, however, was still busy glaring at that Sirius guy. He couldn't be very serious.

"Maybe she's from a different time," James piped up. "From a time before you were thought of, good old Sirius. Imagine a time traveller stumbling across the great marauders …"

"Yeah, or maybe she just got hit on the head a few times too much," Sirius interrupted him coolly.

"Well, I am Dahlia Black and I tell you, there is no Sirius Black," she snapped, drawing herself up to her full height. She was still shorter than any of the four boys.

"Oh really? Well, I tell you that I am Sirius Black and there is no Dahlia Black," Sirius answered flippantly.

"Riddles, I like riddles," James said, rubbing his hands together happily.

"There is no riddle," Dahlia said. "Your friend has simply cracked and imagines to be my relative. I can't blame him. If I had his ugly mug, I would want to be related to me as well."

"Whoah, wait a minute. I said I was a Black before you even opened your mouth to tell us your name!" Sirius exclaimed unhappily. "And what's this with the ugly mug? You're the one with an uncanny resemblance to cousin Bellatrix. That's what I call an ugly mug!"

"I certainly don't look like Bellatrix!" Dahlia cried out. "Take that back!"

"You sooo look like Bella! Bella-look-alike! Bella-look-alike!" Sirius chanted back at her with a smug look on his face. Obviously he did not know what was good for him.

With a battle cry, Dahlia threw herself at him. But strong arms wound themselves around her while a sniggering Sirius took a few cautious steps back. Dahlia was trying to get out of the grip that was holding her back. If only she could get her hands on that usurper! She would show him! "Calm down, calm down," Remus said next to her ear. "Take it back Sirius, or I'll let her loose on you," he added in the direction of his friend.

"Alright, alright," Sirius said raising his hands. "You don't look a bit like dear old crazy Bella," he said in quite a dishonest tone of voice.

Remus released a panting Dahlia who decided that this might not be the right moment to finish off that Sirius guy. Too many witnesses.

"Okay, when you're all done, you might want to listen to Agent James, right?" James said happily next to them, completely oblivious to the tension between the two Blacks.

"What is it, James?" Remus said.

"Well, I have come to the conclusion that they might both be Blacks. I mean they both know and hate Bellatrix. This has got to be clear evidence! Maybe she's some kind of love child that has been kept secret from Sirius. And thus the riddle is solved …" He looked quite content with that explanation and graciously snatched the snitch out of the air next to Peter's ear.

"I am the completely legitimate eldest child of Orion and Walpurga Black," Dahlia answered coolly. "And I have lived at Grimmauld Place all my life and know all my relatives."

"Right," Sirius said and eyed his opponent furtively.

"But that doesn't make sense," Peter said tentatively. "I mean: Sirius is their eldest. Why would he not know you?"

"Furthermore, you are younger than Sirius. How would you be the eldest of the children?" James added.

Dahlia snorted: "Boy, you must really be delusional if you're trying to steal my parents! Go look for different ones… Really, it's for your best! Do you know what they do with old houseelfves?"

Sirius was still glaring. "They behead them and put their heads on the wall," he answered coolly. "And believe me, if one could exchange parents, I would have gone looking for different ones a long time ago."

"Mysterious, very mysterious," James was commenting, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.

"Well, either the girl is pulling a joke on us," Remus said. "Or we are dealing with some kind of magical phenomenon. Maybe she's been confunded."

"I'm not confunded!" Dahlia complained. "I was just up in the attic of Grimmauld Place. The entire ancient family of Black had crawled out of their dark holes and was there for Christmas. And I was hiding in the attic because Bellatrix had threatened to turn me into a frog the last time I'd seen her."

A quick look of surprise flitted across Sirius' face. "And why did she threaten you with that?" he asked.

"Well … Regulus and me had pulled a little prank, but she thought it had only been me. Regulus being everyone's darling after all… the only male Black heir and so on …" Dahlia explained.

"What exactly was that prank?" Sirius asked full of curiosity.

"We put a bunch of muggle pictures in her study just before her boyfriend came for a visit," Dahlia said, innocently widening her eyes.

"Ingenious," Sirius said. "But the reason I am saying it is ingenious is because I did that prank myself a little bit more than two years ago. And dear old Bella threatened me with that frog transformation as well and I hid in the attic until the Christmas guests were gone. Obviously you are confunded, little girl!"

"But why would anyone give her your memories?" James questioned.

"Yeah, and how do you know they are your memories and not mine?" the girl said triumphantly.

"Because I have three friends here who will all tell you that I am Sirius Black. You, however, only have your own opinion," Sirius answered smugly.

"Take care Sirius, or I'll side with the girl," Remus said quietly.

"Yeah, cause she's simply better looking than you," James added, smirking.

Sirius let out an astonished cry: "What? Betrayal! Betrayal! By my best friends… And hey, wait a minute; what's this about her being better looking than me? Give me a mirror! My family for a mirror! What's happening to this world?"

"Right," Dahlia said. "So we both think we are the eldest child of Orion and Walpurga? How do we settle this?"

"Snow ball fight!" Sirius said.

"Okay, it shall be the duell of the snow," Dahlia said.

And thus, Sirius and Dahlia shook hands. They certainly did not know what they were getting into.


	2. The Disappearing Act

guest: thanks!

Jostanos: thank you, I especially like the 'one shot' part about your review… because, well, one never knows what else life brings along.

"Wouldn't it be a lovely headline

'Life is beautiful' on a New York Times…" Rufus Wainwright

 **The Disappearing Act**

"Um, but how do we get her down to the snow without the teachers seeing her? I mean if they see her, they'll …" Peter trailed off.

"They'll cart her off to some asylum?" Sirius asked. "Sure! But for such occasions we have a certain cloak …"

"She might be your relative, but we're not introducing her to all of our secrets," James cut him off.

"I'm right here, you know," Dahlia said, shaking her head at the antics of the boys. "And I'm not backing down from the snow duel …"

"You won't have to," James said grimly. "Come on," the messy haired boy said, and started walking up a staircase. His friends exchanged a puzzled look. Dahlia followed full of curiosity. Where would that Potter boy lead her?

He opened a door and they entered a dormitory with four beds that looked as if a tempest had hit it. "Oh, you've been robbed," Dahlia said, not very sorry.

"Why do you think that?" James asked as he jumped across some clothes and made his way towards the far end of the dormitory.

"Well," Dahlia said, gesturing towards the mess.

"Oh that, that's just how we like to keep our room," Sirius explained. Sirius, Peter and Remus had all followed James and Dahlia up into the first year boys' dormitory.

"Ah! Here it is!" James exclaimed and emerged from the furthest corner. In his hands he held a broom. "Ready for a flight into the snow-fight, milady Black?"

"Oh dear, James is so dazzled by the female company that he's started to speak in rhymes," Remus snorted. Dahlia grinned. If there was something she did truly like then it was a good flying session (and boys rhyming for her). She made her way over to James and extended her hand. "Sure," she said. "I'll meet you guys outside."

James frowned. "I'm not letting you ride my broom alone, you know," he said. "You might look like Sirius, but you're still a girl."

"And he won't even let me ride his broom," Sirius explained. "It's kinda sacred."

"Let me get this right, James," Remus added, scrunching up his face. "You intend to ride to the grounds on your broomstick with the girl behind you and you think that no teacher will see you?"

"Yes," James grinned. "That's my plan."

"Sounds like an awesome plan," Dahlia said with a wide smile on her face. This was waaaayyy better than being stuck hiding in the attic of Grimmauld place! Actually, she was already beginning to like these four boys.

"Alrighty then," James said and snatched his cloak from his bed. They threw open the window and under the astonished eyes of his three best friends James took off with the girl behind him.

Whooping and laughing, they hurtled towards the ground through the freezing air. James was in the mood to show off and soon Dahlia was holding on for her life so she wouldn't fall off in some looping or another breakneck manoeuvre. Finally, they landed next to the lake. Laughing, Dahlia threw herself into the deep Christmas snow and laughed as hard as she had not laughed in a long time. James stood next to the girl, leaning on his broom with a fond smile on his face. Whoever this girl was, he liked her.

"Wewhoo," Sirius let them hear his battle cry, before he fell on James and tried to wrestle him beneath the snow. Remus and Peter soon joined in the snow fight. And soon Dahlia was on her feet, directing snowballs at the boys while she always skilfully danced out of their reach.

"Mr. Potter! Mr. Black!" they could suddenly hear the sharp voice of Professor McGonagall. They had been so involved in their snow fight that they had not seen her approaching. She certainly looked angry.

"What is it Professor?" Sirius said with the most innocent look he could master on his face. "Do you want to join our snow fight?"

Remus and Peter were straightening their cloaks shyly. The two first years were both in awe of their house teacher.

James, however, was looking around with a confused look on his face. Dahlia was gone. She was nowhere to be seen.

"It is not permitted to fly such manoeuvres as you have been flying just now outside of Quidditch practice, Mr. Potter. And it is also quite outside the school rules to take another person with you on your broom," Professor McGonagall went on.

"It won't happen again," James said with a straight face, crossing his fingers behind his back.

"Hey, where's …?" Peter started to ask, but Remus quickly clapped a hand over his mouth.

McGonagall furrowed her brows in suspicion: "Where's what, Mr. Pettigrew?"

"Hagrid," Sirius supplied. "We all wanted to go visit Hagrid. It's Christmas, after all, Professor!"

"Well, it is Christmas, isn't it?" McGonagall sighed and could not suppress a slightly fond look. Nevertheless, she soon looked stern again. "I will see you in my office for detention on the first evening of the new school term, Mr. Potter, Mr. Black."

"Oy! What have I done?" Sirius asked.

"Well, who else was riding on that broom behind Mr. Potter? Father Christmas?" McGonagall asked with raised eyebrows.

"Uh, oh, ah, that," Sirius said sheepishly and shuffled his feet, looking penitently to the ground.

…

In another dimension, Dahlia was back in the attic of Grimmauld Place 12. She needed some time to adjust to the damp darkness and the sudden loneliness after all this joy and company. "Sirius, Remus, Peter, James," she whispered into the silence. Dahlia knew that somewhere sometime out there they were waiting for her. She could still hear her mother yelling for her down below. It was almost, as if no time had passed in her absence.

…

Madame Pince was very annoyed. Ever since these four mischievous male Gryffindor first years had stayed at Hogwarts during the Christmas break, they were going through her books. She did not like it. They always looked up quite exotic topics. And now this: James Potter exclaiming into the silence of her library: "I've got it! I've got it!" She shook her head in disapproval.

…

That evening, the four marauders were huddled together by a pale light on James' bed. "You've got it?" Peter and Sirius chorused full of excitement. Remus was just about as interested as the two of them together, but he did not openly show his excitement as his friends did.

"You mean, you have found out something about the mysterious appearing and disappearing little girl with extremely good looks?" Sirius asked.

"I thought you said she had an ugly mug?" James questioned, one eyebrow raised.

"Well, McGonagall confused her with me," Sirius explained. "She must have some looks after all… But tell, do tell, do tell us everything!"

"Ha! Now, you all listen well," James said and brandished the parchment on which he had swiftly copied some text out of the book "The Dimension Shifter".

He cleared his throat. "A dimension shifter is a person that shifts from their own dimension to another on a regular basis. They cannot control the unexpectedly occurring shifts. Shifts can have variable length and will extend with the progressing age of the shifting witch or wizard. While in the destination dimension time does pass during the shift, no time passes in the origin dimension. Usually, the shifter shifts into a dimension towards his or her counterpart of the other sex. Because the shifting period always tends to extend, the shifter will eventually end up swallowed up by the destination dimension. This swallowing process can extend over months, years or decades."

"Huh? So what does it mean?" Peter said, scratching his head.

"It means that this girl was me from a different dimension!" Sirius exclaimed and rubbed his hands together.

"And that Sirius will probably see her again before long," Remus added.

"Like a little sister that keeps popping up and you can't get rid of," James said, smirking.

"But quite a cool little sister," Sirius answered, smirking as well.

"But this swallowing up stuff sounds awful," Remus said. "I mean: she will eventually shift completely from her own dimension to our world and there will be no way back! Think of the friends and family she will leave behind."

"She's a little girl hiding in the attic over Christmas," Sirius answered. "Do you really think she's leaving behind a lot of friends and family?"

"Yes, but soon she will go to Hogwarts and there she'll meet the counterparts of us others," James said, getting more thoughtful as well. "Imagine our Sirius would suddenly start disappearing on us!"

This made the boys look quite solemn. But even those serious faces did not last for long because there were many more adventures to encounter before they should meet Dahlia Black once again. Thus, they lived on, living for the day.


	3. A New Acquaintance

Kitkat: I'm also quite curious about where this is going :)

"When I got up this morning

I thought it might be important

To take all the words I had for you

Put them in a song to prove

That you got something in you

That reminds me to continue." The Films

 **A New Acquaintance**

Dahlia Black did not have any books to look up these mysterious happenings in. However, she was a magical child with a wide imagination and deep understanding of that which cannot be grasped right away. So, over the following months she instinctively understood that in a land far away her male counterpart was living his own fairy tale with the three friends she had encountered on that Christmas day. As she was biding her time, a plan was slowly forming in her mind.

Her main problem that thwarted the swift execution of her schemes was her magical tutor, Mr. Pidwen, employed to make her and Regulus fit for a life surrounded by magic. The man was way too intelligent! There was no escape from "Mr. Pee" as Dahlia and Regulus called him behind his back.

At last, some time in spring, her ingenious brother Regulus managed to stage a diversion: in the middle of a horrible rainy day, little Regulus got into a fight with a random muggle born kid nearly twice his age on an outing in Diagon Alley. Dahlia did not have a lot of time to dwell on the pride she felt for her little brother. She trusted in Pidwen to get him out of this trouble and quickly slipped away through the crowds until she reached the Leaky Cauldron. There, she quickly flitted towards the fireplace, threw the floopowder she had brought along in it, and cried out her destination. Under the surprised looks of the lunch customers of the magical pub she disappeared.

…

Young James Potter was bored. His father was at work. His mother was somewhere upstairs completely absorbed in a two thousand page volume on the life story of Merlin. Furthermore, it was raining outside so he didn't feel like flying his broom. In short: he was alone and staring at the flames of the fireplace full of annoyance and boredom when the little, dark haired girl stepped out.

James blinked a few times. She grinned and extended her hand. "Hi James," she said. "I'm Dahlia."

"Alright," James said, shaking her hand and looking at the fire expectantly. After all, the girl could not be here on her own, could she? Her parents were probably friends with his parents and would come through any minute. However, nothing happened.

"Is nobody else coming?" James asked.

"No, who else are you expecting?" she answered.

"Well, you know, your parents or something. I mean … what are you doing here?" he said.

"Oh, I just wanted to get to know you," she said and shrugged. "I heard that my family doesn't like your family. Thus, we are supposed to become archenemies as soon as we go to Hogwarts. We are the same age, you know …"

James reached up and messed up his hair in a confused gesture. "So you're here to become my enemy a little bit earlier?" he asked. This girl must have some kind of medical condition, he thought.

"I rarely do what I'm supposed to," Dahlia answered with a wicked smile. "So actually, I'm here to become your friend and scheme some schemes with you…"

This sounded quite interesting to James. And slightly crazy as well. This Dahlia girl might just be the distraction from boredom he needed.

"What kind of schemes are we talking about?" he asked.

"Well, at first we must bring together our collaborators!" she said, smirking.

"James, darling, who is this?" Dorea Potter's voice suddenly came from the door of the living room. With a mildly interested look on her face, his mother was scrutinizing their young guest.

"Hello Mrs. Potter," Dahlia said and confidently walked up to the older witch. "I am Dahlia Black. I had heard so much about your family that I thought I might just drop by some time… well, and here I am."

"Oh, do call me Dorea. A Black, you say? My relatives, you know, though we don't have much contact with each other anymore. Well, now that you here, you can have lunch with James and me. It'll be just about half an hour," Dorea said, ruffled up Dahlia's hair and disappeared in the direction of the kitchen.

"Wow, your mum is awesome," Dahlia said. "My mum is about the opposite of her. Imagine a screaming Banshee crossed with a Grim."

James sniggered. "Okay, now tell me the truth why you are here," he said, sobering up.

Dahlia was thoughtful for a moment. Her plan had been to form a friendship with "her" James Potter and then find the other two boys with his help. However, Dahlia had never had a proper friend before (except her little brother, but that was more of a sidekick), so she didn't quite know where to begin. Maybe, a little voice in her head whispered, a little truthfulness would go a long way?

She took a deep breath and told her tale: "It all began last Christmas. I was hiding from my annoyingly crazy cousin in the attic. And then I was suddenly not at home anymore. I was suddenly at Hogwarts and met four students …"

As Dahlia told her tale, James was listening wide-eyed and curious about this strange incident. Was the girl having him on? Where had she heard that he was an awesome flier? And if she was telling the truth, how could he get to know these four boys as well?

"So you think there are some kinds of counterparts of us in some other world out there?" he asked.

She nodded.

James narrowed his eyes: "You're having me on, I don't believe you. So you want to be my archenemy after all…"

She put a hand over her heart: "I solemnly swear I am telling the truth."

They were locked in a silent staring contest when Dorea called them to lunch. Slowly they made their way into the dining room.

"So, how are your parents? How are Orion and Walpurga?" Dorea asked as soon as they had sat down to eat as if Dahlia's parents were old friends' of hers.

James rolled his eyes. How boring this kind of small talk was!

"I guess they are like always," Dahlia answered, staying politically correct.

This was when they could hear some shuffling and loud voices in the living room. Dorea gracefully rose to her feet and was about to make her way over, when an angry voice screeched: "Where is she? Where is my eldest? Where are you hiding her, Potter? My eldest and those Potter-blood traitors…" Dorea took out her wand. Within the next instant, Walpurga Black appeared in the doorframe of the dining room of the Potters.

"Banshee crossed with Grim?" James asked Dahlia in a staged whisper. He was not quite sure whether to be amused or cross for that woman to talk to his mother in such a manner.

"There you are!" Walpurga exclaimed shrilly as soon as she set eyes on her mischievous eldest.

"We were just about to have lunch," Dorea said calmly, "do you care to join us?"

"Lunch? Lunch with the likes of you? Mudblood lovers! Never!" Walpurga exclaimed. "Daughter, you come with me right away! This is no place for a proper Black to be!"

Dahlia scowled. Then she whispered almost inaudibly towards James: "I'll be back. Wait for me at midnight." Innocently she raised her voice: "Coming, mother!"

…

One positive thing to be said about the Blacks was the gigantic blind spot they had for their eldest offspring. This escapade of Dahlia's, for example, was seen as some kind of attack on the honour of the Black family by the Potters and not as a scheme executed by their daughter. Dahlia got off by being sent to bed early. She did not care one bit. She stayed up reading until suddenly the door to her room creaked open and Regulus silently snuck inside.

"Hey Rex," Dahlia whispered and put down the book she had been reading.

"Hi Dally – so, did it work?" Regulus asked as he sat down on the bed next to her and looked up at her with big brown eyes. "Will you finally tell me why you wanted to go to the Potters? Oh, please do tell me!" He was making adorable puppy dog eyes.

The two children were of course forbidden to call each other with such commonplace names as Dally and Rex, but exactly for that reason they liked to call each other by those nicknames in secret.

Dahlia furrowed her brows and thought about what she should tell Regulus. Up to now she had been very secretive about her encounter with the four marauders. James had been the first person she had told about that little journey across time and space. Regulus, however, might be her one and only actual friend, but he also was her little brother and should thus be protected by her from the dangers this world could bring.

She opened and closed her mouth. Was it her place to tell a little boy that one could just be picked up from one place and turn back up in completely different circumstances? That one was not safe anywhere? Not even in one's own little home?

"Aw, come on, Dally," Regulus interrupted her musings, lying down on his back on her bed.

"Well, last Christmas while I was in the attic something peculiar happened to me," she began and soon the tale was pouring forth like a river that had broken a dam. Regulus listened full of wonder and astonishment.

"So now you want to go and get to know the counterparts of these boys?" he asked when she had finished.

"Yes," she said, glad to have finally told Rex all there was to know.

"Sounds like a good idea. I mean you would probably meet them at Hogwarts, but that's still more than a year away," he said, nodding to himself.

"So, what do you think?" Dahlia asked. "Are you going to help me? Are you coming with me to the Potters' place tonight at midnight?"

A broad grin spread over her brother's face. "Yes!" he whispered. "Yes, sure, I'm in."


	4. Marauder Confessions

"Where did I go wrong? I lost a friend

Somewhere along in the bitterness

And I would have stayed up with you all night

Had I known how to save a life." The Fray

 **Marauder Confessions**

Remus Lupin sighed as he crossed the Gryffindor common room towards the stairway up to the boys' dormitories, waving towards the Prewett twins, two fourth years who were sitting by the fire plotting something. He had spent his time studying in the library until Madame Pince had sent him on his way. After all the first exams at Hogwarts were coming up and Remus felt that he owed it to everyone concerned in bringing him to Hogwarts to score good marks. On evenings like this everything just seemed to weigh heavily on his small shoulders. What would his friends say if they knew they were sharing their dorm with a werewolf?

"But how do we tell him?" he heard Peter ask as he opened the door to their dormitory. "Shhht," James and Sirius chorused.

"Tell who what?" Remus asked absentmindedly as he made his way over to his bed, putting down his heavy bag. Silence answered. Remus raised his head and saw that his three friends were all huddled together on James' bed and regarding him with serious looks on their faces. Serious looks? Something had to be very wrong…

Tentatively, Remus made his way over to them. Still, no one spoke.

"Remus, we know," James said at last.

"You know?" Remus asked. "What exactly? Everything? Don't tell me you've all been enlightened or something while I was gone…"

"We know that you're a werewolf," Sirius said, without blinking.

"Oh," Remus said, freezing in front of them. His mind was completely blank. He just did not know what to think so he thought nothing.

"I guess we'll have to call it your furry little problem…" James said, a mischievous smile playing around his lips.

Remus gaped at him. So this was the end of the first proper friendships of his life. So this was the end to all of his hopes. Then he said: "Okay, well, I guess, I'll pack my things then …"

"Whatever for?", Sirius asked.

"I mean… you guys probably don't want to sleep in the same room as me anymore," Remus said. He had never felt so sad in his entire life. Up to Hogwarts he had been lonely, for he had not had any friends, but now he would be desperate, for he had once had friends. He felt a shiver going through his hands and looking down at them he realised that they were shaking violently.

"Don't be silly!" James said, jumping up from his bed and walking over to his brown haired friend, reaching out to calm down his hands. "Why ever would we kick you out?"

"We like you just the way you are," Peter added.

"I mean… we're not happy that you have this … furry little problem… but whatever it takes, we'll be by your side," James said, putting a hand upon the arm of his shaking friend.

Wide-eyed Remus looked from James to Sirius to Peter. "But …" he stammered, "But I'm a monster! How can you want to still be my friends?"

Sirius snorted, springing up as well and walking over to his two friends: "Aw, come on, Remmy boy, of course you're not a monster. I mean, if we hated you for something you can't do anything about then you'd all have to evade me for being a son of the most noble House of Black!" Sirius slung an arm around Remus shoulders, patting him on the arm. Suddenly, all three of his friends had crowded around him in a group hug.

"But…" Remus whispered while he was trying to breath. He was by far too shocked and scared to enjoy the moment. He was standing there, frozen and shaken, waiting for the other boys to let him go. Finally, they stepped back and Remus took a deep breath. "But it's not the same as coming from some dark family … it's, well, I'm not related to them, I'm the monster myself… I'm dangerous!"

"Attracted to danger," Sirius said, grinning lopsidedly and pointing from James to Peter to himself.

"But well, okay, how did you find out?" Remus asked, sitting down on his bed with a devastated look on his face.

While the other three marauders crowded the bed around Remus, James coughed something that sounded awfully like "Agent James". They were talking animatedly and soothing Remus' nerves as the day became night and stars sparkled outside. All the while, midnight was approaching.

…

"Okay, it's time for our expedition," Dahlia whispered. Regulus nodded with a determined expression on his face. The clock pointed ten minutes towards midnight. Quietly the two siblings opened the door of Dahlia's room and, after some listening and watching, slipped outside. Slowly, they crept down the stairs. Everything was dark and quiet. The houseelfheads were staring down at them empty eyed.

After an eternity, they reached the bottom of the stairs and crept into the kitchen. The clock showed five minutes towards midnight. And then, quite suddenly, instead of entering the kitchen of Grimmauld Place 12, Dahlia stood on a bed in a dormitory she remembered very well. Huddled together before her were her acquaintances, the four marauders, obviously in the middle of some kind of important conversation, probably scheming something.

"Ah, looks like I'm back – good evening by the way," Dahlia said. The four boys chorused their curious greetings.

"Even Agent James has noticed that you're back, so you must be," Sirius said, a lopsided smile on his face.

"So, what were you guys talking about?" she asked, dropping down into a comfortable sitting position next to her alternate self.

"About dimension shifters," James said and winked in Remus' direction. Remus was still feeling a little shaky and readable like a book.

"A dimension shifter - What's that?" she asked.

"You are," Peter said.

"No, I'm Dahlia," she said imperiously.

"And a dimension shifter and my alternate female self," Sirius elaborated. "We'll show you the book!"

"Yes," James said excitedly, "let's go to the library … then she can see for herself!"

Remus nodded thoughtfully, even though he actually felt that he had had enough excitement for one night.

"But we don't all fit under the cloak," Peter said, frowning.

"Why would we all need to fit under one cloak to get to the library?" Dahlia asked. This was beginning to sound stranger and stranger.

"Not one cloak, the cloak," James said, spreading his hands dramatically. Whispering, he bent closer to Dahlia: "It's an invisibility cloak … it'll make us able to cross the corridors of Hogwarts unnoticed by all the danger lurking in its shadows…"

Sirius snorted: "Yeah, real dangers like Peeves the poltergeist … and insomniac teachers … imagine Slughorn finding you in the corridors at night – he would try to involve you in some kind of conversation and blackmail you to come to his parties…"

"I say, just Sirius, Dahlia and me shall go to the library," James decided. "After all, it was me who found the book on dimension shifting. And Sirius is kind of her counterpart. And Dahlia wants to go see that book. So it'll have to be us three beneath that cloak tonight."

Peter looked a bit sad to be left out. Remus, however, was for once glad to be able to stay behind. He had a lot to think about.


	5. The Little Greyback

_Hey guys! I'm really excited: in this chapter you'll finally meet my other favourite character of this story. Enter AU!Remus …_

"Now Cinderella, don't you go to sleep:

It's such a bitter form of refuge.

Why don't you know the kingdom's under siege

And everybody needs you." The Killers

 **The Little Greyback**

Slowly, James, Sirius and Dahlia were moving through the library towards the corridors of Hogwarts. It had not taken them a long time to find the book in the library and to show the girl the passage she needed to know. Dahlia was not very concerned about the fact that she had to expect a lifetime of switching between two dimensions, until she would at an unforeseeable point in time leave her home dimension behind. She thought that this was some kind of grand adventure and was in a rather good mood. Sneaking through Hogwarts with James and Sirius in tow was after all much more exciting than being locked up in her family home with only little Regulus for company.

"So, where do you want to go first?" James asked in a whisper. "Kitchen? Forbidden Forest? Astronomy Tower?" Dahlia had voiced the wish to see some more of Hogwarts while she had the chance …

"Forbidden?" she asked with an innocent expression on her face, "did you just say forbidden?"

Sirius and James shared a grin. "Okay, follow our lead," Sirius whispered and the trio stepped out of the library into the corridors.

 **In Another Dimension**

Young Remus Greyback had never felt anything like the thrill of this transformation. Every smell, every sound came through to his heightened senses. Strong paws carried him across the forest floor. Finally freed, he raised his snout to the sunny spring skies and let out a howl of victory. None of the pain of his early moonlight transformations, all of the joy of a freely chosen form filled him. He was the wolf and the wolf was him. He ran over mossy underground; he drank from a fresh stream; he scared some birds; he was exhilarated. If he had been able to on four paws, he would have danced.

Satisfied, he decided to turn back towards their camp. Slowly, the first excitement about his feat began to fade and an uneasy feeling stole upon him. The young wolf growled quietly. Every part of his senses told him that his pack was in danger. He ran faster and faster. After an eternity he reached their clearing. He could smell the danger; he could smell the fear and defeat of his companions, but nothing could have made him stay away. The young werewolf was quite exhausted when he reached the camp edge at last and turned back into his human form. The first steps he took on two feet were uncertain and stumbling.

Right away, he realised that something was very wrong. Just a few minutes before, he had been excited about showing his father that he was now capable of turning into a wolf in broad daylight as well and now he stood in front of an eerily quiet assembly of huts.

Remus broke out into a run towards the biggest hut. "Dad!" he cried in his high-pitched children's voice, full of fear. "Dad!"

Not one of his pack was to be found, but suddenly two red-clad figures appeared around the corner of a hut.

"Bloody hell," the taller one of the two said, staring at Remus with a raised wand. "They've even got little beasties!"

Remus stopped in front of them, balling his hand into fists and shaking from anger.

"Where's my dad?" he demanded to know.

"Arrested," the smaller one of the two said, scrutinizing Remus with a calculating look. "Like the rest of the beastly lot."

"But he's done nothing!" Remus snarled. He had heard his father tell many stories about the way wizards treated werewolves. About their prejudice and pride. It made him seethe. He would show them – and even only to make them hurt just a little. He concentrated hard, he would turn into a wolf and turn them – let them see what they would think of werewolves then!

"Look at that," one of the red-robed ones laughed. "Little wolfy is angry!"

It didn't work. Remus could not transform, thus he simply hurled himself at them in his human form. They were fast: a wand, a flash of a light and Remus knew no more.

….

Remus woke up in a warm and fluffy bed. He blinked up at a white ceiling. Disoriented, he sat up and looked at the strangest old man he had ever seen sitting by his bedside: the man was wearing purple robes with sparkling silver stars on them, had a long white beard and was scrutinizing him with a kind look over his half-moon glasses.

"Ah, you are awake," the old man said and smiled.

"What happened? Where am I? Who are you?" Remus asked coolly when the two red-clad figures and the empty werewolf camp came back to his memory.

"You are currently at St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies, my young friend. And I am known as Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of Hogwarts."

Remus scowled. So this was this Dumbledore figure of which his father did not think much. Always spoke about helping the werewolves, but never actually did anything.

"Well, how are you feeling, young man?" Dumbledore went on to ask.

Remus scowled and remained silent.

"Remus is it?" Dumbledore asked, still smiling.

Remus crossed his arms and turned his face away.

"I have a proposition to make," the old wizard went on after an extended silence.

Remus did not acknowledge this in any way.

"You see, the people you were living with were searched for various crimes and have now been imprisoned. Thus, you cannot live with them anymore."

Remus' face remained unmoved.

"However, they were not your proper family, Remus. You were stolen from your parents at a very young age to be brought up amongst werewolves. Your actual parents have missed you very much and would love to welcome you back into their home."

Remus turned his hard, cold gaze onto Dumbledore. He nearly said something harsh, but he decided that silence was his best weapon.

"Now, I understand that this might be much to take in, but I would strongly propose for you to give them a chance to offer you a proper family."

"I have a family," Remus snarled. "If they are in prison, then put me there too. I don't want to meet these people."

"It is a great sign of a good heart of you to stick with the people who have brought you up like this, Remus. However, you might want to reconsider if I elaborate what my proposition truly means," Dumbledore said. "I am not only telling you that your parents wish to take you back under their wing, I am also offering you a place at Hogwarts, school for witchcraft and wizardry. It would be a shame to miss out on a bright young student like you."

For a while they had a battle of wills, in which their eyes stayed locked in silence. Then Remus Greyback spat right at the old headmaster's face.


	6. The Pact

_Hi guys! This is one last short chapter that belongs to the prologue – then there will be a time jump and the real action begins …._

…

"But tell me now, where was my fault

In loving you with my whole heart

Oh, tell me now, where was my fault

In loving you with my whole heart?" Mumford & Sons

 **The Pact**

 **Amongst The Marauders**

As soon as they were out of sight of the castle of Hogwarts, James put away the invisibility cloak. As they slowly walked down towards the woods their manner grew more solemn. What had seemed like a good joke in the warm and cosy castle, now appeared more and more foolish. However, none of the three would have admitted that.

It was a clear night and a half-moon illuminated their path down to the forest. Adventures followed …

 **In Another Dimension**

Remus sat stiffly on his seat opposite the two adults claiming to be his parents and scowled.

"Do you not like the food, dear?" Hope Lupin asked. Lyall Lupin shifted next to his wife, full of insecurities. What does one do when one is suddenly the parent of a son one has lost five years ago? What to do with a son that does not speak to you or acknowledge you in any way as his true parents?

"I'm going outside," Remus said stiffly, getting up from the lunch table. He was as much at a loss as his parents. His werewolf pack had never been shy around him, but these adults treated him as if he was made of glass. It was not to be borne!

As soon as the young werewolf had left the front garden of his house, he began to run in the direction of the nearby forest. Underneath the pied light of the forest, he tried and tried to transform, walking further and further into the wilderness. However, transformation did not come. It would have been a blessing for his insides were on fire with a horrible longing for is actual father Fenrir Greyback. Would he never see him again? Would he never sit by the fire at night beneath the stars and listen to the wise man who had travelled the world?

"That depends on you, my boy, that completely depends on you valour and your courage," a voice said. Remus stopped in his tracks and turned around. Behind him stood a pale and handsome young man with dark hair and a cold look to his dark eyes, twirling a wand between his fingers.

"Who are you?" Remus demanded, frowning. The man had read his thoughts! Would the trespassing of the wizards never stop? Was it not enough that they had taken away his family and pack?

"Someone who would like to offer you a deal, young Master Greyback," the stranger said and smiled a charming smile that somehow seemed off and wrong to the boy.

"That would be?" Remus asked, crossing his arms.

"I have come to the knowledge that your pack, and especially your father, my good friend Fenrir, have been arrested by the prejudiced witches and wizards of the ministry. Of course, I do not wish to see such injustice happen to my friends and stand by without action. Who would want that?" Again that calculated smile, a little lowering of the voice: "I have a plan, young Remus: I want to free your pack from Azkaban … I have some connections … you know, they did not get a proper trial and some people in the right places could still get them out. I mean to say: what could they possibly have done other than the passive act of simply being bitten? No, it is not just to lock them away. Together, we will get them out."

Remus was still suspicious: "And what do you want me to do?"

"Oh, well, that is not much. I want you to be a good boy and stay with your blood relations … Hope and Lyall Lupin, is it? And I want you to be a good son to them. And once you are going to Hogwarts, I might have one or the other little trifle for you to do for me."

"You mean, you will free my pack, but I can't go back to them?" Remus asked.

"Well, you will get to see them – but in secret only. You will have to be a proper son to the Lupins and an excellent student at Hogwarts. Well, would you rather your pack stayed in Azkaban just because of your selfish wish to live with them? Life is not always fair, Remus," the man said, still smiling nicely.

"But why can't I go back to live with them if they have not done anything wrong?"

"Because we will need someone reliable at Hogwarts. If I was you I would see this as a honourable position… Well, now, you might have all day, but I do not. I have some werewolves to safe from unjust workings of the juridical system. You remember your job, Remus, which is to be nice and complacent, and when you are needed, we will let you know. I assume you agree to this little pact?"

"Yes," Remus said, "if you can truly free my pact I will do everything you want me to do."

The man smirked and had already raised his wand to disapparate, when Remus cried out: "Wait!"

"Yes?" the man asked mildly.

"What is your name?"

For the first time since he had appeared the smile on the man's face seemed genuine: "I am known by some as Lord Voldemort. You, amongst a select few, may call me the 'Dark Lord'." Then Voldemort was gone. Sadly, not for long or otherwise this story might have gone quite differently.


	7. Disaster

**Disaster**

"Lady Grey, you tell a smile.

What is your secret, what's your lie?

You lived a long, hard life;

Your memory may fade, but you're still wise."

Katzenjammer: Lady Grey

 **In Dahlia's Dimension**

As Dahlia was talking, she, James, and Regulus were all huddled together on the upper floor of the former barn situated next to the house of the Potters' which had been remodelled as James's retreat. Rain was drumming on the roof above them. It was a dark and stormy night. The children loved it. And Dahlia was telling James and little Rex all about the Forbidden Forest of Hogwarts and the two boys she had explored it with. James was starting to believe that Dahlia was indeed a dimension hopper. After all no girl could possibly invent such cool things as those she was talking about.

"So, you think I'll meet this Sirius once I enter Hogwarts?" James said thoughtfully. To be honest, he wasn't quite sure whether he wanted a contender in the game of being the coolest guy around the castle. But having a proper friend sounded kind of nice.

"Have you not been listening," Regulus sighed. "Dahlia is Sirius there and Sirius is Dahlia here."

James made a face. "So tell me about the other boys then, those other Marauders" he sighed, slightly disgruntled. Why did that other James get a proper Sirius, and he was supposed to be happy with a damned Dahlia?

"Well, there's a little chubby blond one … Peter Pettigrew, I believe," she said.

"Oh, come on! I already know that one. Not the brightest of the lot."

"And then there's Remus Lupin," she mumbled.

"Ha! You like him, right?" James smirked.

"I do not!"

"You do too!"

That was when she jumped at him, her fists flying. No Remus was around to hold her back this time. Regulus wasn't quite sure whether he should cheer his sister on or whether he ought to be worried that James's parents would wake from the noise of these two bashing each others heads in. By the time Regulus had decided that the thunder outside was loud enough to overshadow this little scuffle, Dahlia and James had stopped fighting. They sat next to each other, obviously quite content with the blue bruises around their eyes and on their arms.

"Well," said James with a laugh, clapping a hand onto Dahlia's shoulders. "I've never heard of this Remus Lupin before, but we'll find your Romeo."

"Actually…" she said.

"Yes?"

"James, I mean the other James, and Sirius have told me where the Lupins live – their floopowder address. And since Regulus and me have already snuck away from home, how about we go visit them?"

It did not take them a long time to sneak into the Potters' living room. And soon they had disappeared through the fireplace. It was a cosy little house they found themselves in shortly afterwards. Dusting themselves off in the tiny kitchen, they looked around. A small stairway led up away from them. They followed it, Dahlia lighting the way with her wand. They passed a door which stood ajar. Seeing two adults fast asleep, Dahlia quietly closed the door. They passed on to the next door. Through the slightly opened door they discovered the boy they had been looking for.

They entered the small, very bare room, gazing at the brown-haired, sleeping and tossing boy with wonder. He seemed troubled, his lips moving in his sleep while he was turning from side to side. Dahlia put a soft hand onto his arm.

Then everything went really fast. What once had been a sleeping boy had suddenly, as though by instinct, turned into a wolf, growling and snapping at the three of them. James must have had some heroism in him, or perhaps he was just the fastest one to react, or as a Potter he was simply less intelligent and self-preserving that the two Blacks… all I know is that he shoved Regulus and Dahlia back behind himself and threw himself into the path of the wolf, which lunged for him.

Howling. Shouts. Splatter of blood. A sudden light as the Lupins entered the room. The clinking of breaking glass. More shouts. Howls disappearing in the distance.

 **Back Amongst Marauders**

It was one of the first brilliant spring days. The Marauders were lounging around by the lake when, suddenly, a by now quite familiar girl was sitting in the grass next to them. "Hi Dally," James said, smirking – and she bowed her head. Sirius ruffled his dimension sister's hair, but she shied away from his touch.

"What is it?" Remus said, putting down his book in concern. If Dahlia Black was not as proud and carefree as she had always been, something dreadful must have happened. Peter was frozen in chewing some sweets and gazing at Dahlia with wide eyes.

"I've messed up," she whispered.

"You're nine," Sirius said. "Whatever could you have messed up?"

"A lot," she sighed.

"Too young for teen drama," James said, rolling his eyes.

Then Dahlia told them about that night. All that could later be unravelled from all that howling and blood is the following: young Remus must have instinctively transformed into a wolf from the fright of a sudden touch in his sleep. He had jumped at James and bitten the other boy in the shoulder. And when the Lupins had entered the room, Remus had realised what had happened and had taken flight by crashing through the window and making away into the surrounding woods. Remus had not been seen since then. And James, who would remain not a werewolf, but scarred for life, now refused to be Dahlia's and Regulus's friend – not only because his parents had forbidden the friendship, but also since he was not stupid and was not going to remain friends with someone who put him into that kind of situations. This was the tale Dahlia had to tell the Marauders.

Remus had gone quite pale, - and his friends were not looking any better.

"I just wanted to become their friend," Dahlia sighed, devastated.

Sirius put a soothing hand onto her shoulder, but none of the boys knew how to truly comfort her. How could something like this ever by rectified?


End file.
